Part 2: The Growth of the N.F.S.H. Training (1966 – 1976)

The decade opened with an important event. On 12 March 1966, the N.F.S.H. held its first Healing Teach-In at Central Hall, Westminster. Harry Edwards, Gordon Turner, Ray Branch and Don Walker organised the day, which brought together representatives from the Church of England, Nonconformist churches, Quakers, Buddhists, Jews and other faith groups, as well as members of the medical profession. Around 2,500 people attended. The event received national press and BBC coverage, helping spiritual healing reach a wider public audience.

Public demonstrations also played an important role. In June 1966, about 4,000 people gathered in Trafalgar Square for a healing demonstration led by Harry Edwards, Tom Johansen and the Surrey Healers Association. That autumn, the final Summer School at Mallon Dene attracted more than 250 people. Its programme included meditation, study groups, religious and healing talks, clairvoyance and daily healing in the chapel. Several doctors attended after hearing about the Westminster Teach-In.

In 1967, the Summer School moved to the Overmead Hotel in Torquay. Although accommodation was limited to 100 people, it offered meditation classes, lectures and a healing demonstration at Paignton Spiritualist Church. The demand for this kind of training led the Federation to plan a Spring Teach-In for the following year. The next few years was marked by Gordon Turner’s recovery from a serious stroke. He attributed his recovery to hard work and healing.

The Federation’s public work continued in 1968. In April, the Home Counties Association held a Teach-In at St Andrew’s Hall, Norwich, attended by more than 1,000 people. The speakers included church representatives, doctors, Jim Prior MP, Harry Edwards and Gilbert Anderson. The Spring School at Torquay was directed by Gilbert and Ruth Anderson following Gordon Turner’s illness. A BBC television crew visited during the week, reflecting the growing public interest in the movement.

That September, the Northern Summer School was held at the Norbreck Hydro Hotel in Blackpool. The programme included a large public healing demonstration by Harry Edwards, Olive and George Burton, meditation classes and lectures on subjects such as hypnosis, reincarnation and colour healing. Visitors came from Canada, Germany, India, Jordan, Holland, Sweden and Israel, demonstrating the Federation’s widening international reach.

In 1969, the Spring School returned to Torquay, while further schools were held in Douglas on the Isle of Man and at Rogerston Hall, Corton, in Norfolk. The Norfolk school included a public demonstration by Tom Johansen and Karl Francis, a talk by Harry Edwards on a new advanced Study Course, and a lecture by Derek Neville. At the same time, the N.F.S.H. promoted its Absent Healing Study Course, which introduced students to the principles of attunement and healing. The Federation also made clear that members were required to maintain strict confidentiality, following principles comparable to the Hippocratic Oath.

By 1970, the N.F.S.H. had 5,752 members, including 2,615 practising healers. It opened new headquarters in London, providing a patient lounge, treatment rooms and a panel of healers. Members and associates were active in many countries, including Australia, New Zealand, North America, Europe, Africa, India and the Middle East.

Training became a central part of the Federation’s work. Four home-study courses were available: “Theory and Practice of Spiritual Healing”, “Absent Healing”, “Science of Spiritual Healing”, and “Anatomy and Physiology”. Thousands of copies were issued. The courses were designed to help healers develop their knowledge and to bring greater consistency to spiritual-healing practice.

The N.F.S.H. continued to use Teach-Ins and schools to reach the public. A Teach-In in Bristol in March 1970 was well attended and encouraged discussion with churches and social organisations. At the Spring School in Torquay, students worked in basic, general and advanced groups. A BBC crew filmed Gilbert Anderson’s healing demonstration, and the broadcast led to many new requests for treatment. Later that year, the Northern School at Blackpool included a healing service and demonstration by Harry Edwards, Olive Burton and George Burton.

The Federation also received an important confirmation from the Minister of Health. He reaffirmed that healers could attend patients in hospital when requested by the patient or relatives and when the doctor gave consent.

In 1971, the Spring School at Torquay was fully booked, with a public healing service held at the Princess Theatre. The Northern Summer School again met in Blackpool and welcomed members from Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium and Austria. Gilbert Anderson encouraged these members to work towards a Continental Federation of Healing. By this time, more than 7,200 Study Courses had been issued, underlining the importance of home learning to the N.F.S.H.’s work.

New opportunities for training followed in 1972. At the new headquarters, Shortacres, the Federation began lectures, development classes and seminars. Its third course, “The Science of Spirit Healing”, considered healing energies, disease and the healer’s role in supporting recovery. In March, Harry Edwards appeared on BBC2’s “Man Alive”, watched by an estimated 1.5 million viewers. The programme was the first colour television broadcast to show spiritual healing.

During 1973, headquarters offered eight-week courses in meditation and attunement for beginners, as well as theory and practice classes for probationer healers. The Northern Summer School moved to Llandudno, where the programme included a healing service, demonstrations, a film on psychic surgery, and talks on acupuncture and homeopathy. By then, members throughout the world had ordered 8,734 Study Courses. The N.F.S.H. regarded this as an important contribution towards standardising spiritual-healing practice.

The final years of the period saw the same pattern of teaching, public events and annual schools continue. Ray Branch gave a Liverpool lecture on healing in 1974 to mark the Federation’s 21st anniversary. In 1975, the Home Counties Association held a public Teach-In at Hatfield, while the Spring School again met at Torquay. The Stratford-upon-Avon Spiritualist Fellowship also hosted an evening on “Healing and the Whole Man”.

In 1976, the Spring School returned to Torquay. Later that year, the N.F.S.H. celebrated 21 years at the Café Royal in London. The occasion included talks by physicist and inventor William Roope on human energy fields, Dr Alec Forbes on health and cancer research, and Maxwell Cade on biofeedback research.

Over these ten years, the N.F.S.H. developed from an organisation centred on individual healers into a broader national and international movement. Its schools, courses, public demonstrations and lectures created a structured route into healing while bringing its ideas before churches, doctors, researchers and the general public.

By Charlie Kennedy, Historian of the Healing Trust. charlie@charliekennedy.co.uk.